[mvk20]

@Kolohe 95146 wrote:

The power company doing work on the transformers there.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?7584-FMR-Trail-To-Be-Closed-at-S-Eads-St

Thanks. Actually, though, I was wondering about Eads St itself south of 23rd. They’ve had it ripped up for a while, steel plates over some sections, and I think they’re laying some kind of pipe under the road. But eventually that’s all supposed to get upgraded, and I thought at least some of the proposals included protected bike lanes, which in my opinion are sorely needed there due to all the bus/truck traffic and the connection to the trail. Anybody know if any of these proposals was decided upon, and/or what the timetable for any repaving/improvements might be?

[mvk20]

Anybody know what’s going on further down the street, past 23rd and by the water treatment plant and towards the 4MR trail?

[mvk20]

@Rootchopper 95053 wrote:

Two thoughts come to mind about Clarke County. Does the county get anything out of the ride other than a lot of people getting delayed going to their important Sunday morning business? You’d think the fact that this happens only once a year would make the locals a little more tolerant and welcoming.

Other than a couple of smiles from kids, everybody I saw not riding a bike in Clarke County looked miserable. This was not true of Jefferson County.

Often communities welcome big cycling events like Seagull or Bike Virginia. Does anybody in Clarke County want this event? If so, why aren’t they speaking up?

Some great points here. What does the county get out of the ride? I paid my registration fee, bought the shirt and jersey, and unless I’m mistaken that’s the sum total of the money I spent on the event. Did any of that money go to the county or to any businesses in the county? If so, why are they so surly about it? If not, maybe that’s something that should be considered – having it be a bit more of a cash cow to the area. I for one would be perfectly willing to pay an extra $20 registration that went to local businesses providing stuff for the ride, especially if it made the ride a big party for the county rather than something they seem to wish would go away.

Agreed that things seemed perceptibly better in Jefferson County. I certainly did not see law enforcement harassing cyclists that weren’t doing anyone any harm, or hiding out in the hopes of doing so.

This was my first cycling event. I’m proud of myself for completing it, but I have to say the open hostility towards the event leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’d love to hear about events that are more welcoming and give one of those a try!

[mvk20]

@dasgeh 95036 wrote:

You could always write the police and organizers thanking them for the wonderful ride, but pointing out the dangerous situation caused by that motorist and asking them to perhaps enforce Virginia’s new 3-foot passing law…

I had a great ride, but it was not thanks to Clarke County “law enforcement”. I use quotation marks because their enforcement was selective at best. I was signed up for one of the group rides (which went out way, way too fast, dropped almost the entire group, and threatened to end my day prematurely). Our ride began with the Clarke County sheriff delivering a menacing message that we would be ticketed for anything and everything we did wrong, and even for a few things that aren’t always wrong, like riding double file. He informed us that people had places to go in their cars that day and not to hold them up. No welcome to Clarke County, no have a nice ride, and certainly no we’ll try to keep the roads safe for you.

I saw police hiding at about one of every four stop signs. I saw four cyclists given tickets for slowing to an absolute crawl (1-2 mph) but not coming to a complete stop. I heard reports of many more of these at rest stops. I’d be willing to bet there were no 3ft passing tickets given that day, nor many if any speeding tickets considering the vast majority of their officers were hiding at stop signs.

Yes, I saw a few GU wrappers on 100 miles of road. Maybe 10. For over 2000 cyclists, that’s not bad. I guarantee I saw 10 beer cans (most likely not from cyclists) for every GU wrapper. I saw nothing else other than a bunch of cyclists respectfully enjoying a beautiful day out on the roads.

It’s beautiful country out there, and it’s a nice ride. At the same time, I wonder if maybe that ride has run its course. I didn’t feel welcome at all, and that’s really a shame.

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